Key persons in VALID:

Dr. Miguel Angel Pardo, senior researcher in AZTI, has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and has managed research projects involved in genetic identification of species and detection of pathogens in seafood products during the last years.

Mr. Erling Larsen, DTU Aqua, is also in project 6.1 and coordinator of RTD Activity 6. He holds a position of senior advisor. He has experience both as administrator of research and development funds and from other food sectors. He has been working with quality related issues in the fish sector and has coordinated the development of a software production system and traceability projects. He has been a management team member of the CA, -FQLM and the EU Tracefish project QLK-2000-00164.

Alberto González de Zárate, AZTI, is also in project 6.1. He is project leader in AZTI, has been the project leader of more than 50 national and international projects dealing with food hygiene, HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), Quality Assurance (ISO 9000), continuous education to farmers and fishermen, quality and denomination of origin labelling and implementation of traceability in different food sectors (meat and fish).

Dr. Marit Aursand, Research Manager of the Department of Food Processing at SINTEF. Her main research activity is authentication of fish and fish products using high resolution NMR and application of the NMR techniques in food science.

Dr. Iciar Martinez, senior scientist at SINTEF and Professor-II at the Norwegian College of Fishery Science. Her applied work has been related to the application of new processing and preserving technologies to seafoods. Her latest work has been focused on authentication of fish and fishery products.

Monique Etienne, research scientist at IFREMER, is a food biochemist. Her main research activity is quality and authentication of fish. She has extensive experience as a manager for projects related to seafood quality in collaboration with seafood processor organisations.

Dr. Niels Bøknæs, process developer at Royal Greenland Seafood A/S (RG), a processing company located in Denmark. It has been involved in research on quality of frozen and fresh fish products since 1992. Dr. Bøknæs previously worked at DIFRES on quality of frozen fish products, where he also obtained his Ph.D on Quality of thawed chilled cod products packed in modified atmosphere’ a project joint with Royal Greenland A/S. Since 2000 he has been employed at Royal Greenland A/S as a process developer on the factory in Glyngøre. In this context, he has for the last three years cooperated with DIFRES in two research and development projects concerning quality and processing of prawns in brine.

Jon Ander Bilbao, ALBACORA, S.A., a Spanish SME. ALBACORA is a tuna fishing company located in the north of Spain (Basque Country), with branches in Madrid (Spain) and Guayaquil (Ecuador) Its fishing capacity can reach the 100.000 tonnes a year, which makes this company one of the most important in its activity sector. It has 15 big freezing tuna vessels and 8 fridge merchant vessels, being the only one that operates in the 3 world fishing areas: the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Mr. Bilbao has great experience in data managing in the company, first picking up, and then processing and transmitting it.

SALICA is a modern fish transforming industry of 11.000 m2 located in the north of Spain (Basque Country). Its main activity is the transformation of tuna within the fish canning industry. It produces a large range of different formats and elaborates canned fish, frozen and ready meals of long-fin tuna, albacore tuna and other tuna species. It has the capacity for processing up to 45.000 fish tonnes annually, by means of its equipment and personnel, which at the moment amounts to 380 members of staff. Salica one of the most important specialist in tuna processing due to: (1) the company has a strategic partner, ALBACORA, a tuna fishing company that catches more than 100.000 tonnes of tuna, which supposes being one of the most important companies in its sector, and (2) it offers a complete service to the market, with the largest range of tuna products: canned fish, frozen and ready meals, not only with own brands, but also with customer brands.

GEASA S.A, a Spanish SME. The company is created by the Chamber of Commerce of Vitoria (Basque Country). Among others, they offer activities such as market studies, and training courses. The main activity of this company and other companies involved in the same group is the whole process of putting into contact fish suppliers of under-developed countries with European countries fish wholesalers. Once this first contact is established, the company hires the necessary aircrafts in order to carry out the fish transport. When the product is at Vitoria airport, they count there on the needed system for the fish handling so that it can be arranged for the wholesaler to buy the product.